User-configurable recording of VoIP calls

ABSTRACT

Various example implementations are directed to circuits, apparatuses, and methods for providing voice-over-IP (VoIP) services. According to an example embodiment, an apparatus includes one or more VoIP servers configured and arranged to route VoIP calls to and from users of a plurality of customer accounts. Each customer account has a respective plurality of users and a respective settings file. For each of the customer accounts, a processing circuit communicatively coupled to the VoIP servers, records an audio portion of a VoIP call to or from a user of the customer account in response to the VoIP call satisfying a set of recording criteria specified in the settings file for the customer account. The recording criteria for at least one of the customer accounts includes account-level settings for selecting VoIP calls to be recorded and sets of user-level settings indicating criteria for preventing recording of VoIP calls of the individual users.

OVERVIEW

Computing servers are increasingly being used to provide variousvoice-over-IP VoIP communication services over a network including for awide range of customer applications including, but not limited to,residential/business telephony services, video conferencing,dictation/transcription, call centers, intercom service, and/or remotemonitoring services. Due to the wide variety of applications that mayuse VoIP communication, it is difficult to provide features and servicesfor VoIP communications that are tailored to meet the needs of allcustomer accounts. Similarly, for customer accounts having multipleusers (e.g., employees in a company), it is difficult to providefeatures and services that satisfy the needs and/or preferences of allusers of the account.

Various example implementations are directed to circuits, apparatuses,and methods for providing respective VoIP services for a plurality ofcustomer accounts with customizable recording of VoIP calls according toa respective set of settings for each account. The ability to customizesettings for each customer account, allows recording of VoIPcommunications to be used in wide variety of business and residentialapplications (e.g., transcription services, conference call recording,and/or monitoring and review of calls in a call center). In someimplementations, the settings for each customer account may be adjustedby individual users to customize recording of VoIP calls to/from theuser (e.g., to adjust needs and/or privacy concerns of the user).

According to an example embodiment, an apparatus includes one or moreVoIP servers configured and arranged to route VoIP calls to and fromusers of a plurality of customer accounts. Each customer account has arespective plurality of users and a respective settings file. For eachof the customer accounts, a processing circuit communicatively coupledto the VoIP servers, records an audio portion of a VoIP call to or froma user of the customer account in response to the VoIP call satisfying aset of recording criteria specified in the settings file of the customeraccount. For at least one of the customer accounts, the recordingcriteria includes account-level settings and user-level settings for oneor more users of the account. The account-level settings indicatecriteria for selecting VoIP calls to be recorded. The user-levelsettings for a user indicate criteria for preventing discerniblerecording of VoIP calls that have been selected by the criteriaindicated in the account-level settings.

According to another example embodiment, a method for providing VoIPservices for a plurality of customer accounts is disclosed. For each ofa plurality of customer accounts, one or more VoIP servers are used toroute VoIP calls to and from a plurality of users of the customeraccount. An audio portion of a VoIP call to or from a user of one of thecustomer accounts is recorded in response to the VoIP call satisfying aset of recording criteria specified in a respective settings file of thecustomer account. For at least one of the customer accounts, therecording criteria includes account-level settings and user-levelsettings for one or more users of the account. The account-levelsettings indicate criteria for selecting VoIP calls to be recorded. Theuser-level settings for a user indicate criteria for preventingdiscernible recording of VoIP calls of the user that are selected by thecriteria indicated in the account-level settings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be more completely understood in consideration of thefollowing detailed description of various embodiments of the inventionin connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows an example communication network for routing VoIP calls anda processing circuit for recording of VoIP calls, consistent with one ormore embodiments;

FIG. 2 shows an example process for recording VoIP calls for one of aplurality of customer accounts, according to a respective set ofcriteria specified in a respective settings file for the customeraccount; and

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart illustrating a decision process performed by anexample set of recording criteria.

While various embodiments are amenable to various modifications andalternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of examplein the drawings and will be described in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention tothe particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention isto cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure are believed to be applicable to avariety of different types of apparatuses, systems, and methodsinvolving for providing customizable VoIP communications for a pluralityof customer accounts. In certain implementations, aspects of the presentdisclosure have been shown to be beneficial in the context ofcustomizable recording VoIP communications to respective a set ofrecording criteria for each customer account or respective recordingcriteria for individual users of the customer accounts. For ease ofexplanation, examples and embodiments may primarily be discussed withreference to VoIP calls to/from users of customer accounts. While notnecessarily so limited, various aspects may be appreciated through adiscussion of examples using such exemplary contexts.

In one or more embodiments, an apparatus includes VoIP serversconfigured to route VoIP calls to and from users of a plurality ofcustomer accounts. Each of the customer accounts has a respectiveplurality of users and a respective settings file. A processing circuitcommunicatively coupled to the VoIP servers is configured to recordaudio of VoIP calls for each of the customer accounts according to thesettings file for the customer account. For instance, the processingcircuit records an audio portion of a VoIP call to or from a user of acustomer account in response to the VoIP call satisfying a set ofrecording criteria specified in the settings file for the customeraccount.

Different customer accounts may utilize various criteria to determinewhether or not a VoIP call for the customer account should be recorded.For instance, recording criteria for a first account may direct theprocessing circuit to record all VoIP calls for the account. Recodingcriteria for a second account may direct the processing circuit to onlyrecord a subset of VoIP calls for the account that have certaincharacteristics. VoIP calls may be selected to be recorded based onvarious characteristics specified by the recording criteria for theaccount including, but not limited to, source or destination numbers ofthe VoIP call, time or date of the VoIP call, geolocation of callparticipants, in-call user input, voice recognition triggers,teleconference schedules and/or applicable fees for the call.

In some embodiments, the recording criteria for an account may includemultiple levels of recording criteria. For example, the recordingcriteria for an account may include account-level settings applicable toVoIP calls of all users and user-level settings applicable to VoIP callsof individual users. The account-level settings indicate criteria forselecting calls to be recorded from the VoIP calls of all users of theaccount. The user-level settings of a user may indicate criteria forselecting VoIP calls of the user to be recorded. In some instances, theuser-level settings may additionally or alternatively specify criteriafor identifying calls that should not be recorded. For instance, a usermay configure user-level settings to prevent discernible recording ofcalls to or from a user-defined list of personal numbers. For ease ofreference, criteria in the user-level settings used to indicate callsthat should not be recorded may be referred to as exclusion criteria. Ifexclusion criteria is satisfied by a VoIP call, recording of the VoIPcall is prevented even if account level settings indicate that the callshould be recorded.

In some implementations, the user-level settings may allow a user tooverride the account-level settings. As an illustrative example, acorporation may create a customer account to provide VoIP services forits employees. To improve services provided by the employees, forexample customer service in a call center, the company may wish torecord business related VoIP calls for later review. The account-levelsettings may be configured to select VoIP calls in a department ofinterest (e.g., customer service). However to protect employee privacy,user-level settings may be configured to prevent recording of certaincalls selected by the account-level settings. For instance, an employeemay set user-level settings to prevent recording of calls to or from alist of personal contact numbers of the employee. In some embodiment,the processing circuit may further protect privacy by providing an audionotification to call participants that the call is being or may berecorded.

Different implementations may use different techniques to preventdiscernable recording VoIP calls of a user. In some implementations,discernable recording of a VoIP call may be prevented by disablingrecording of VoIP calls of the user by the processing circuit. In someother implementations, discernable recording of a VoIP call may beprevented by encrypting the VoIP call. Encrypting of VoIP calls may alsoprevent recording of third parties, which transport VoIP data betweenparticipants of a VoIP call (e.g., PSTN or cellular network providers).

The settings file for a customer account may specify settings forvarious options for recording, storage, and/or processing of VoIP calls.For example, in some embodiments, the settings file may specify arecording quality (e.g., bit-rate) or codec (e.g., WAV, MP3, or FLAC)that should be used for recording VoIP calls for the customer account orfor individual users.

As another example, the settings file for a customer account may specifysettings for storing audio recordings of the VoIP calls. Differentembodiments may utilize various storage options for storing audiorecordings of VoIP calls. In some implementations, the processingcircuit may store audio recordings of VoIP calls in a local data storageincluded in the apparatus or connected thereto via a local-area-network.In some other implementations, the processing circuit may store audiorecordings of VoIP calls in a data storage remote to the apparatus(e.g., connected to the apparatus via the internet or other wide-areanetwork). In some implementations, the processing circuit may storerecorded VoIP calls for a customer account in a local or remote datastorage specified in the settings file for the account. In someimplementations, the processing circuit logs into a data server, usinglogin credentials included in a settings file, and stores a recordedVoIP call in the remote data server. For ease of explanation, theexamples are primarily described with reference to storage of recordedVoIP calls in a single data storage device or server. However, theembodiments are not so limited. For instance, in some embodiments, aprocessing circuit may store recorded VoIP calls using multiple local orremote data storage devices or servers. For instance, a user may adjustuser settings to store recorded VoIP calls in several free or paidcloud-based data servers (e.g., DROPBOX, GOOGLE DRIVE, and/or AMAZONCLOUD). The processing circuit may select which remote data server touse based on a number of factors that may be specified in the set ofcriteria (e.g., available user storage on the remote data servers,transfer speeds to the remote data servers, and/or monetary cost forbackup to the remote data servers). In some embodiments, the settingsfile may be configured to direct the processor to encrypt a recordedVoIP call prior to storing it on the local or remote storage device. Thesettings file may specify encryption settings including, for example,encryption cipher and encryption key or key size.

In some embodiments, the settings file for a customer account may beconfigured to cause the processing circuit to transcribe recorded VoIPcalls for the customer account or individual users. For instance, afterrecording a VoIP call the processing circuit may perform voicerecognition to generate a transcription of the VoIP call. In someimplementations, the transcription may be used by the processing circuitto trigger additional actions to be performed by the processor. As oneexample, the processor may be configured to send an alert to a user inresponse to the transcription including a trigger word indicated in thesettings file. For instance, the settings file for a customer servicecall center may be configured to flag a VoIP call for review if thetranscription includes profanity.

In some implementations, the processing circuit is also configured toprovide a graphical user interface GUI (e.g., an interactive website)for an authorized user(s) to review/adjust the recording criteria and/orother settings of a user account. In some embodiments, the GUI may alsoallow users to review/adjust user-level settings of the recordingcriteria. In some implementations, the GUI may allow an authorizeduser(s) to listen to and/or transcribe recorded VoIP calls. The GUI mayalso allow an authorized user(s) to forward or share recordings ortranscriptions of VoIP calls.

In some implementations, the GUI provides a teleconference interface forscheduling or conducting a teleconference. The teleconference interfacemay provide various options to the conference participants. For example,the GUI may include a mechanism for users to imitate recording ortranscription of the teleconference. As another example, the GUI mayinclude a mechanism for participants to exchange files or collaborate ona shared workspace during the teleconference.

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 shows an example communicationnetwork for routing VoIP calls and a processing circuit for recording ofVoIP calls, consistent with one or more embodiments. The communicationnetwork includes a VoIP server 142 configured to VoIP services for usersof a plurality of customer accounts. The users may place or receive VoIPcalls using various end-point devices including, e.g., mobile devices120, plain-old telephones (POTS) 122, computer(s) 126, and/or IP phones128. VoIP calls may be routed to or from the end-point devices overvarious data networks including, e.g., the internet 112, public servicetelephone networks 102, cellular networks 104, and wired or wirelessprivate data networks (e.g., LAN 130, and/or Private Branch Exchangeservers (not shown)).

A processing circuit 144 is communicatively coupled to the VoIP server142. The communicative-coupling of the VoIP server 142 and processingcircuit 144 may include either a direct connection or an indirectconnection having, e.g., multiple connections, relay nodes, and/ornetworks in a communication path between the VoIP server 142 andprocessing circuit 144.

The processing circuit 144 is configured to monitor VoIP calls routed bythe VoIP server 142 for each of the customer accounts and record a VoIPcall in response to the call satisfying respective recording criteriafor the client account. In this example, the recording criteria 160 foreach account is specified in a respective settings file 152 or 154stored in a data server 150. In some implementations, the data server150 may be a local data server connected to the processing circuit 144directly or via a local area network. In some other implementations, thedata server 150 may be remotely connected to the processing circuit 144,for example, via the internet 112.

The settings files 152 and 154 for customer accounts may utilize variousrecording criteria to determine whether or not VoIP calls should berecorded. The recording criteria may include, for example, source ordestination numbers of the VoIP call, time or date of the VoIP call,geolocation of call participants, in-call user input, voice recognitiontriggers, teleconference schedules and/or applicable fees for the call.In this example, recording criteria 160 specified the settings file 152includes a set of account-level settings 162 and sets of user-levelsettings 164 and 166 for individual users of the customer account. Theaccount-level settings 162 indicate criteria for selecting calls to berecorded from the VoIP calls of all users of the account. The user-levelsettings 164 and 166 indicate criteria for selecting VoIP calls of anindividual user to be recorded. In some instances, the user-levelsettings 164 and 166 may additionally or alternatively specify criteriafor identifying calls to be excluded from recording.

As previously described, the processing circuit 144 may utilize variousstorage options for storing audio recordings of VoIP calls. In someimplementations, the processing circuit 144 may store audio recordingsof VoIP calls in the same data server 150 as the account settings file152 and 154. In some other implementations, the processing circuit 144may additionally or alternatively store the audio recordings of VoIPcalls using one or more other data servers (not shown), which may belocal or remote to the processing circuit 144.

In some implementations, the processing circuit 144 is also configuredto provide a GUI (not shown) for an authorized user(s) to review/adjustthe recording criteria 160 and/or other settings of a user account. Forexample, the processing circuit 144 may host an interactive web-sitehaving a GUI with a mechanism for an authorized user to review/adjustthe account-level settings 162 and/or user level settings (e.g., 164) ofthe recording criteria 160. In some implementations, the GUI may allowan authorized user(s) to listen to and/or transcribe recorded VoIPcalls.

In some implementations, the GUI provides an interface for scheduling orconducting a teleconference. The teleconference interface may providevarious options to the conference participants. For example, the GUI mayinclude a mechanism for users to imitate recording or transcription ofthe teleconference. As another example, the GUI may include a mechanismfor participants to exchange files or collaborate on a shared workspaceduring the teleconference.

FIG. 2 shows an example process for recording VoIP calls for one of aplurality of customer accounts, according to recording criteriaspecified in a respective settings file for the customer account. Inresponse to a VoIP call being initiated, the VoIP call is routed usingone or more VoIP servers at block 202.

Block 204 shows a first process for determining whether or not to recordthe VoIP call. The VoIP call is monitored at block 206 until the callends or until the recording criteria for the customer account issatisfied at decision block 208. If the call ends before the recordingcriteria is satisfied, at decision block 208, the process exits withoutrecording the VoIP call. If the recording criteria is satisfied,decision block 208 directs the process to decision block 210. Aspreviously described, in some implementations, user-level settings mayindicate exclusion criteria indicating calls that should not be recorded(e.g., personal calls). If exclusion criteria is satisfied at decisionblock 210, the process exits without recording the VoIP call. Otherwise,the VoIP call is recorded at block 212. After the call is ended, theprocess stores the recorded VoIP call at block 214.

As previously discussed, different embodiments may store recorded VoIPcalls user various local or remote storage devices and/or according tostorage options specified in the settings file for the customer account.In this example, the process stores a recorded VoIP by logging into aremote data server at block 216 using login credentials indicated in thesettings file for the account and uploading the recorded VoIP call tothe remote data server at block 218.

Block 220 shows a second alternative process (illustrated by dashedlines) for determining whether or not to record the VoIP call. In thesecond process, the VoIP call is automatically recorded at block 220without regard to the recording criteria or exclusion criteria specifiedin the settings file for the customer account. Once the call has ended,the process proceeds to decision block 222 to determine whether or notthe recorded call should be stored or discarded. If the recordingcriteria indicated in the settings file for the customer account is notsatisfied at block 224, the recording of the VoIP call is deleted atblock 228. Otherwise, if the recording criteria is satisfied at block224, the process proceeds to decision block 226. If exclusion criteriais satisfied by the VoIP call, at decision block 226, the recording ofthe VoIP call is deleted at block 228. Otherwise, if exclusion criteriais not satisfied at decision block 226 or if no exclusion criteria isspecified in the settings file for the customer account, the processstores the recorded VoIP call at block 214 as previously described.

As previously described, the recording criteria may utilize variouscharacteristics of a VoIP call to determine whether or not the VoIP callshould be recorded. For instance, VoIP calls may be selected to berecorded based on various characteristics including, but not limited to,source or destination numbers of the VoIP call, time or date of the VoIPcall, geolocation of call participants, in-call user input, voicerecognition triggers, teleconference schedules, and/or applicable feesfor the call.

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart illustrating a decision process performed by anexample set of recording criteria for selecting VoIP calls to berecorded. The process includes a number of decision blocks, which directthe process to block 306 if various characteristics of the VoIP callsatisfy recording criteria in the settings file. At block 306, the VoIPcall is selected for recording unless exclusion criteria indicates thatrecording of the VoIP call should be prevented.

In some implementations, the process includes one or more decisionblocks that direct the process to block 306 if the VoIP call 302 hasvarious characteristics indicating that the VoIP call is businessrelated. For instance, a manager at a company may configure therecording criteria to identify and trigger recording of business relatedcalls. In one example, decision block 304, directs the process to block306 if the VoIP call 302 is to or from a number included in a whitelistspecified in the settings file for the customer account. As anotherexample, decision block 304, directs the process to block 306 if theVoIP call 302 is placed or received within business hours specified bythe settings file for the account. As another example, decision block310 directs the process to block 306 if the VoIP call 302 is to or froma VoIP-enabled device geographically located at a designated businesslocation.

In some embodiments, users may optionally configure the recordingcriteria, when scheduling a teleconference, to cause the teleconferenceto be recorded. For example, decision block 312 directs the process toblock 306 if the VoIP call 302 corresponds to a pre-scheduled conferencehaving a recording option enabled. The ability to enable recording whenscheduling a teleconference simplifies the call in process and allowsscheduled teleconference participants to be notified in advance that theconference will be recorded.

In some embodiments, the recording criteria may be used to select VoIPcalls for recording based on employee performance. For example, decisionblock 314 directs the process to block 306 if a user participant of theVoIP call 302 has a performance rating that is less than a thresholdlevel. Such recording criteria may be useful, for example, in a callcenter to focus managerial review on low-performing employees. In someimplementations, the recording criteria may additionally oralternatively perform a random selection of VoIP calls for recording andreview. For instance, decision block 316 directs the process to block306 based on a random selection. In some embodiments, the probabilitythat a VoIP call will be selected for recording at decision block 316 isspecified in the settings file for the customer account. In someimplementations, the settings file for the customer account may specifya respective probability of selection for each user of the account. Insome embodiments, the probability of selection may be specified in thesettings file as a percentage of calls of the user that are to berecorded. For example, the probability of selection may be respectfullyset to 100%, 50%, or 0% to record all, half, or none of the VoIP callsof a user.

In some embodiments, the recording criteria may be configured to selectVoIP calls for recording based words spoken during the call. Forinstance, the recording criteria may be configured to record VoIP callsthat include one or more words indicative of an emergency. In thisexample, if the recording criteria includes a trigger word list,decision block 320 directs the process to perform voice recognition atblock 322. If the voice recognition detects a word in the trigger wordlist, decision block 324 directs the process to block 306.

In this example, the decision blocks 304, 308, 310, 312, 314, 316 and320 primarily direct the process to recode the VoIP call in response tothe call having individual characteristics. However, various embodimentmay include more complex logic for selection of VoIP calls for recordingincluding multiple characteristics in combination. For example, in someembodiments, the recording criteria may only select VoIP calls forrecording if a destination/source number of the VoIP call is specifiedin a source list and the VoIP call is placed during business hours.

As previously indicated, in some implementations, the processing circuitmay perform various processes in addition to recording of VoIP callsincluding, for example, transcription and/or encryption of recorded VoIPcalls or generating of alerts. In some implementations, the processesmay be enabled or disabled for a customer account and/or individualusers according to settings in the account settings file for theaccount. The account settings file may cause the processing circuit toperform various processing for all VoIP calls or for select VoIP callsthat satisfy certain criteria specified in the settings file. Forexample, as previously indicated, the processing circuit may performvarious processes (e.g., alert generation) in response to a voicerecognition indicating that a VoIP call includes certain trigger wordsspecified in the account settings file.

Various blocks, modules or other circuits may be implemented to carryout one or more of the operations and activities described herein and/orshown in the figures. In these contexts, a “block” (also sometimes“logic circuitry” or “module”) is a circuit that carries out one or moreof these or related operations/activities (e.g., a computing server, anetwork monitor and/or a GUI). For example, in certain of theabove-discussed embodiments, one or more modules are discrete logiccircuits or programmable logic circuits configured and arranged forimplementing these operations/activities, as in the blocks shown inFIGS. 1, 2 and 3. In certain embodiments, such a programmable circuit isone or more computer circuits programmed to execute a set (or sets) ofinstructions (and/or configuration data). The instructions (and/orconfiguration data) can be in the form of firmware or software stored inand accessible from a memory (circuit). As an example, first and secondmodules include a combination of a CPU hardware-based circuit and a setof instructions in the form of firmware, in which the first moduleincludes a first CPU hardware circuit with one set of instructions, andthe second module includes a second CPU hardware circuit with anotherset of instructions.

Certain embodiments are directed to a computer program product (e.g.,nonvolatile memory device), which includes a machine orcomputer-readable medium, having stored thereon, instructions which maybe executed by a computer (or other electronic device) to perform theseoperations/activities.

The various embodiments described above are provided by way ofillustration only and should not be construed to limit the disclosure.Based upon the above discussion and illustrations, those skilled in theart will readily recognize that various modifications and changes may bemade without strictly following the exemplary embodiments andapplications illustrated and described herein. For instance, althoughimplementations may in some cases be described in individual figures, itwill be appreciated that features from one figure can be combined withfeatures from another figure, even though the combination is notexplicitly shown or explicitly described as a combination. Thedisclosure may also be implemented using a variety of approaches such asthose involving a number of different circuits, operating systems,and/or software programs/packages. Such modifications and changes do notdepart from the true spirit and scope of the present disclosure,including that set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for providing voice-over-IP (VoIP)services for a plurality of customer accounts, each customer accounthaving a respective plurality of users and a respective settings file,comprising: one or more VoIP servers configured and arranged to, foreach of the plurality of customer accounts, route VoIP calls to and fromthe plurality of users of the customer account; and a processing circuitcommunicatively coupled to the one or more VoIP servers and configuredand arranged to, for each of the customer accounts, record an audioportion of a VoIP call to or from a user of the customer account inresponse to the VoIP call satisfying a set of recording criteriaspecified in the settings file of the customer account and to perform avoice recognition analysis to identify words of the VoIP call, the setof recording criteria for at least one of the customer accountsincluding account-level settings indicating criteria for selecting VoIPcalls of the plurality of users of the customer account to be recorded,and for one or more of the plurality of users of the customer account,respective user-level settings indicating criteria for preventingdiscernable recording of VoIP calls of the user that are selected by thecriteria indicated in the account-level settings, the processing circuitbeing further configured and arranged to, for at least one of theplurality of customer accounts, cause the set of criteria indicated inthe settings file to be satisfied by one of the identified words of theVoIP call being included in a list of trigger words specified in thesettings file.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processingcircuit is configured and arranged to, in further response to the set ofrecording criteria being satisfied: log into a data server remote to theVoIP server using login credentials included in the settings file forthe customer account; and store the recorded audio portion of the VoIPcall in the data server, and wherein the criteria indicated in therespective user-level settings is configurable in the settings file by amanager of the customer account.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe processing circuit is further configured and arranged to, inresponse to the VoIP call satisfying a set of recording criteria,providing an audio warning to participants of the call indicating thatthe call is being recorded, and recording the call as specified from therespective setting file and as directed by the account-level settingcriteria and the respective user-level settings.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein for at least one of the plurality of customer accounts,the set of recording criteria indicated in the settings file issatisfied by the VoIP call being to a number specified in a listindicated in the settings file.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein forat least one of the plurality of customer accounts, the set of criteriaindicated in the settings file is satisfied by the VoIP call occurringwithin a time range specified in the settings file.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the processing circuit is configured to prevent thediscernable recording of a VoIP call of the user by disabling recordingof VoIP calls of the users by the processing circuit.
 7. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured andarranged to transcribe the recorded audio portion.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured andarranged to record an audio portion of a VoIP call to or from the userof the customer account in response to user input during the VoIP call.9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is furtherconfigured and arranged with, for each of the plurality of accounts, agraphical-user-interface (GUI) that is configured and arranged for anauthorized user of the customer account to adjust the recording criteriaspecified in the settings file of the customer account to prohibit anautomated recording of a call by accessing exclusive criteria with therecording criteria.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein for at leastone of the plurality of customer accounts, the set of recording criteriaindicated in the settings file is satisfied by a VoIP call to one of theplurality of users of the customer account and the user being locatedwithin a geographic region defined in the settings.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein for the one of the customer accounts, the user-levelsettings include a list of personal numbers, and the processing circuitis further configured and arranged to prevent recording of VoIP calls bythe user to numbers indicated in the list of personal numbers; andprevent recording of VoIP calls to the user from numbers indicated inthe list of personal numbers.
 12. An apparatus for providingvoice-over-IP (VoIP) services for a plurality of customer accounts, eachcustomer account having a respective plurality of users and a respectivesettings file, comprising: one or more VoIP servers configured andarranged to, for each of the plurality of customer accounts, route VoIPcalls to and from the plurality of users of the customer account; and aprocessing circuit communicatively coupled to the one or more VoIPservers and configured and arranged to, for each of the customeraccounts, record an audio portion of a VoIP call to or from a user ofthe customer account in response to the VoIP call satisfying a set ofrecording criteria specified in the settings file of the customeraccount, the set of recording criteria for at least one of the customeraccounts including account-level settings indicating criteria forselecting VoIP calls of the plurality of users of the customer accountto be recorded, and for one or more of the plurality of users of thecustomer account, respective user-level settings indicating criteria forpreventing discernable recording of VoIP calls of the user that areselected by the criteria indicated in the account-level settings;wherein the processing circuit is further configured to, in response toa VoIP call to one of the plurality of users of the customer account,determine an employee performance rating of the user; and the set ofrecording criteria indicated in the settings file is satisfied by theemployee performance rating of the user being less than a thresholdrating.
 13. An apparatus for providing voice-over-IP (VoIP) services fora plurality of customer accounts, each customer account having arespective plurality of users and a respective settings file,comprising: one or more VoIP servers configured and arranged to, foreach of the plurality of customer accounts, route VoIP calls to and fromthe plurality of users of the customer account; and a processing circuitcommunicatively coupled to the one or more VoIP servers and configuredand arranged to, for each of the customer accounts, record an audioportion of a VoIP call to or from a user of the customer account inresponse to the VoIP call satisfying a set of recording criteriaspecified in the settings file of the customer account, the set ofrecording criteria for at least one of the customer accounts includingaccount-level settings indicating criteria for selecting VoIP calls ofthe plurality of users of the customer account to be recorded, and forone or more of the plurality of users of the customer account,respective user-level settings indicating criteria for preventingdiscernable recording of VoIP calls of the user that are selected by thecriteria indicated in the account-level settings; and wherein theprocessing circuit is further configured and arranged with, for each ofthe plurality of accounts, a graphical-user-interface (GUI) that isconfigured and arranged for an authorized user of the customer accountto adjust the recording criteria specified in the settings file of thecustomer account to prohibit an automated recording of a call byaccessing exclusive criteria with the recording criteria and the GUI isconfigured and arranged for each of plurality of users of the customeraccount, to specify the respective user-level settings indicating thecriteria for preventing recording of VoIP calls of the user.
 14. Amethod, comprising: for each of a plurality of customer accounts, usingone or more voice-over-IP (VoIP) servers to route VoIP calls to and froma plurality of users of the customer account; and recording an audioportion of a VoIP call to or from a user of one of the customer accountsin response to the VoIP call satisfying a set of recording criteriaspecified in a respective settings file of the customer account andperforming a voice recognition analysis to identify words of the VoIPcall, the set of recording criteria for at least one of the customeraccounts including account-level settings indicating criteria forselecting VoIP calls of the plurality of users of the customer accountto be recorded, and for one or more of the plurality of users of thecustomer account, respective user-level settings indicating criteria forpreventing discernable recording of VoIP calls of the user that areselected by the criteria indicated in the account-level settings; andrecording the audio portion of the VoIP call in response to anidentified word of the VoIP call being included in a list of triggerwords specified in the settings file for the corresponding customeraccount.
 15. An apparatus for providing voice-over-IP (VoIP) servicesfor a plurality of customer accounts, each customer account having arespective plurality of users and a respective settings file,comprising: one or more VoIP servers configured and arranged to, foreach of the plurality of customer accounts, route VoIP calls to and fromthe plurality of users of the customer account; and a processing circuitcommunicatively coupled to the one or more VoIP servers and configuredand arranged to, for each of the customer accounts, record an audioportion of a VoIP call to or from a user of the customer account inresponse to the VoIP call satisfying a set of recording criteriaspecified in the settings file of the customer account, the set ofrecording criteria for at least one of the customer accounts includingaccount-level settings indicating criteria for selecting VoIP calls ofthe plurality of users of the customer account to be recorded, and forone or more of the plurality of users of the customer account,respective user-level settings indicating criteria for preventingdiscernable recording of VoIP calls of the user that are selected by thecriteria indicated in the account-level settings; and the processingcircuit being configured to prevent the discernable recording of a VoIPcall of the user by encrypting the VoIP call.